Clutch mechanism.



J. P. DURYEA & W. M. REMINGTON.

CLUTCH MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED JULY 15, 1907.

Patented May 10, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J- F. DURYEA & W. M. REMINGTON.

CLUTCH MECHANISM. APPLIOATION I'ILBD JULY 15, 1907.

Patented May 10, 1910.

4 SHEETSSHBBT 2.

W iii zax wea" J. F. DURYEA & W. M. REMINGTON.

CLUTCH MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15, 1907.

Patented May 10, 1910.

J. P. DURYEA & W. M. REMINGTON.

CLUTCH MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 15, 1907.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES FRANK DURYEA AND WILLIAM M. REMINGTON, OF SPRINGFIELD,MASSACHUSETTS.

CLUTCH MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed July 15, 1907. SerialNo. 383,773.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES FRANK DUR- YEA and WILLIAM M. Rnmiuerou,citizens of the United States of America, residing at Springfield, inthe county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Clutch Mechanism, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to clutch mechanisms and is of the type known asdiskclutches and the invention relates particularly to a clutch of thistype adapted for use in self-propelled vehicles, it being located, aswell known, between the engine and the driving axles.

In self-propelled vehicles as at present generally constructed, theengine and clutch are located in a tubular basepart, and it is desirablethat the clutch mechanism should be easily removable from said basewithout rendering it necessary to dismount other parts of the mechanism.

The object'of thisinvention is to provide a clutch construction which,while occupying the same inclosed space as the engine or an extension ofsaid space, may readily be disconnected from the engine on the .one sideand the driven shafton theother, and be removed bodily from thebase-part or casing, and the invention consists in the constructiondescribed in the following specification and clearly pointed out in theclaims, the construction in its preferred form being illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation taken in the plane of line 1,1, Fig.3, showing the mechanism in its unclutched position. Fig. 2 is a viewsimilar to Fig. -1 showing the position of the parts when they are inclutch, the plane of this section being'on line 22, Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is.an end elevation of the mechanism shown in the preceding figures,certain! parts, however, being shown in section, the plane of which isonline 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. i'is a side elevation of the clutch mechanismdisconnected from its associated driving and driven parts and partiallyre- I motor vehicle which extends, as these machines are generallyconstructed, to or is connected with, the driving axle. The clutchmechanism is located bet-ween the ends of these shafts, as shown inFigs. 1, 2, and 4c, and is inclosed in a suitable casing c which, asshown in the drawings, is practically a part of the engine base it beingfirmly bolted thereto by means of bolts not shown, which extend throughthe flange or lugs d at the left-hand end of the casing, the right-handend of the casing being connected with the casing of the transmissionmechanism to which it is bolted firmly. This is the constructiongenerally followed, that is the engine base, the clutch-casin and thetransmission casing are all firm y secured together or at times, wherepossible,

.cast together as one piece, the clutch of course being located betweenthe engine base and the transmission casing. Thus located,

Patented Ma 10, 1910.

and connected on the one side to the engine and on the other side to thetransmission mechanism, the removal of the clutch has, as heretoforegenerally constructed, been a diflicult operation and one requiring avery considerable length of time. In the construction forming thesubject matter of this application, means are provided whereby theclutch may be bodily removed from the casing 0 through an opening insaidcasing which is closed by a cap 6 shown separated from the casing inFig. 4. As seen in Fig. 3, the casing at this point is substantiallycircular in cross section and the cap cv constitutes ractically one-halfof this casing circum erentially. When it is in position, it is securedby bolts f to a horizontal flange on the casing, along either sidethereof, see Fig. 3, and also by other bolts located at the, top of thecap.

The clutch is supported and connectedto the driving and driven shafts aand b as follows: The end of the engine shaft (1. that extends into thecasing cis tapered for a portion of its length, and beyond this taperedpart is a threaded part vh. Fitted over the tapered end of this shaft isa disk is which has a tight fit thereon and is also secured thereto by akey m, if desired (see Fig. 2) a nut 0 isthen screwed onto said the key,and extending beyond the threaded portion of the cap is a short end 12integral therewith and constituting a center bearing for the clutchmechanism.

The clutch frame proper consists of two annular parts,the outer one ofwhich is indicatedby the letter 0" and the inner one is lndicated by s;the member 7", as seen in Fig. 2, is, by means of bolts t, secured tothe disk 70. The inner member 8 forms part of the hub member s which isprovided with a squared end '0 which is axially located relative to thecircular part, and is adapted to be coupled to the similarly squared end20 of the driven shaftb by means of a two-part coupling m. The oppositeend of the hublike member s is recessed to receive the rings 3 betweenwhich balls 3 are located, these elements together constituting asuitable ball-bearing to support-this end of the hub 8 and with ittheannular member s, which is a part thereof the rings 3 located in therecessed end of the hub having a tight fit therein, the inner one ofthese rings having a close fit over the projecting end p of thedriving-shaft a. The inner end of the hub s is thus supported in axialalinement with the driving and driven shafts.

When the collar or coupling 00 is applied to the squared ends '0 and wit fits in between two shoulders 4t,one on the hub s and the other onthe shaft b,and in this manner the space 5 is provided between thecontiguous ends of these squared portions.

As shown in the drawings, both the inner surface of the rotatable member1" and the outer surface of the rotatable member s are provided withoppositely located channels 6 and 7 parallel with the axis of theclutch.

This clutch is made up of a series of rings 8 having ton ues 9 thereonwhich extend into the channe s 7, and other like rings 10 having tongues12 thereon which extend into the channels 6, these rings being arrangedin alternating overlapping relation, one to the other.

In the drawings, the rings 10 are shown as having on each side thereoffacing rings 13 of leather or similar material which are riveted to therings 10, the other rings 8 being of metal. This, however, is a detailof construction which has no reference to the invention and both sets ofthe rings may be made of metal, if desired. These rings are held inloose contact by means of a circular head 14 on theinner end of the hubs it having a sliding movement thereon toward and from the opposite endsof the hub, as will be described further on.

On the outer end of the circular member .9 carried by the hub s is a nut15 screwed onto the member s and constituting an abutment for the clutchrings 8 and 10 when the head 14 is moved toward the abutment. Thismovement of the-head 14: is effected as follows: Mounted on the hub s isa sleeve16 having on the inner end thereof a flange 17, said sleevebeing recessed from the inner end thereof toward the other to receive astiff spiral spring 18 which bears against the'bottom of the recess onthe one end and at the other end against the web 19 which extendsbetween the hub and the annular member s and carries the latter, screws20 passing through the circular head 14 and entering the annular flange17 on the sleeve to secure the head to the latter, these screwsextending through the web 19.

The outer end of the hub s is provided with a ring 21 carrying suitabletrunnions 22 which are engaged bya fork 23 clearly shown in Fig. 3, thefork being provided with bearings 24 in the lower half of the casing cin which it may oscillate. The fork 23, by suitable well knownconnections,

may be oscillated by the operator to move the sleeve 16 toward thedriving-shaft a pushing the circular head 14 toward the disk is andcompressing the spring 18, thus leaving the clutch rings 8 and 10 freeto rotate one relative to the other.

In the arrangement shown in the drawings, a being the driving shaft,will rotate the disk and the circular member 1' secured to it, and therings 10, engaging as they do with the grooves or channels 6, willrotate with the member 7", the other rings 8 remaining stationary. When,however, the spring 18 is allowed to expand, each of the driving rings10 will be clamped between two of the driven rings 8, and when thisclamping movement is sufliciently strong to prevent the slipping of oneset of rings relative-to the other, the circular member s and the hub.

s will rotate as one with the member 1', and thus through the coupling:0 rotate the driven shaft 6. If now, it is desired to remove the clutchfor the purpose of cleaning or repairing it, the cap e, (as shown inFig4 to which reference may now be had) is first removed, then the uppercap of the coupling 30 is removed and the sleeve 16, through the fork23, moved up to compress the spring 18. This being accomplished, a hole26, which extends through the squared end '0 of the hub s is uncoveredand into this hole a pin 27 is driven which will hold the spring in itscompressed position. The bolts t which hold the clutch to the disk ismay now be removed and this being accomplished the clutch, as a whole,with the exception of course of the disk 70 may, after the lower half ofthe coupling a: has been removed, be moved toward the shaft 1), thespace 5 between the contiguous ends of said shaft and the squared end (Zof the clutch-hub, having been left for this purpose. This space 5provides room to slide the bearing ring 3/ off from the centeringprojection p on the end I of the driving-shaft positioning the clutchcasing, as shown in said Fig. 4;. When it is replaced, it is put back inthe same manner, the trunnions 22 on the clutch being dropped in theirseats in the forks 23, and the clutch then slipped forward over thecentering projection p of the driving-shaft, whereupon the bolts t maybe replaced and the pin 27 driven part way out, the clutch may be soturned as to allow the lower half of the coupling w to be placed inposition, whereupon the pin 27 may be removed entirely, the fork :23serving to hold the spring 18 in compressed position while the upperhalf of the coupling a: is being bolted in place. It is thus seen thatthe construction described is such as to greatly facilitate and expeditethe removal of the clutch without disturbing other associated parts ofthe mechanism.

hat we claim, is i 1. The combination with a clutch mechanism, of adriving and driven shaft between which said mechanism is located, meansto pivot-ally support said mechanism on one of said shafts, and meansincluding a coupling member :20 for positively securing said mechanismto the other of said shafts in spaced relation 'to the end thereof, saidmechanism comprising a spring, and means to secure the spring in acompressed position whereby room is provided to slide the clutchmechanism toward that shaft with which it is in said spaced relation, todisconnect the mechanism from that shaft on which it is pivotallysupported.

2. A clutch mechanism having in combination, a driving and adriven-shaft in axial alinement and spaced from each other, a clutchconstruction located between said shafts and including concentricannular parts, a hub member, a coupling member for securing the hubmember to the driven shaft, sleeve element, a disk member, an expansionspring located between said sleeve and disk,

means to compress the spring, and means to retain the spring in acompressed condition, the length of the hub-member being less than thedistance between the ends of said shafts, whereby when the couplingmember is removed the clutch construction may be bodily removed, asdescribed.

JA-MES FRANK DURYEA. \VILLIAM M. REMINGTON.

Witnesses:

WM. H. GHAPIN H. W. BOWEN.

